Beloved ‘Backyard Sports’ Video Game Franchise Is Officially Returning
Pablo Sanchez and the rest of the famous
By Tom Dierberger
Aug 20, 2024 09:45 PM
Grab your gloves, get on your bike, and sprint to Steele Stadium –because the storied Backyard Sports franchise will soon be returning to your neighborhood.
Playground Productions, a production company that creates entertainment for families, announced that the cult video game series will return “in the coming months” with the same style and design as the games that were released in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
“We’re incredibly excited to reintroduce Backyard Sports to a new generation of players,” Chris Waters, the chief product officer of Playground Productions, said in an announcement. “We’re taking great care to preserve the look and feel that made the original games so special while updating them with modern features and gameplay that today’s audience expects. I can’t wait for fans to see what we’re building on the Playground.”
The first Backyard Sports game was dubbed Backyard Baseball was launched in 1997, and featured the cult group that includes “Backyard Kids” characters like Pablo Sanchez, Stephanie Morgan, Kenny Kawaguchi, Pete Wheeler and many more. The game was originally created through Humongous Entertainment and published by Atari The franchise then introduced Backyard Sports games for basketball, soccer hockey and football.
The year 2001 was the first time Backyard Sports partnered with MLB to showcase one player from each of the 30 teams of Backyard Sports 2001 as well as thirty fictional players portraying each major leaguer as a child version of themselves. Randy Johnson, Tony Gwynn, Ken Griffey Jr. and Cal Ripken Jr. were among the athletes who were featured in the very first edition. The subsequent Backyard Sports games follow suit, working together with MLS, NBA, WNBA and NHL to include other players from these sports, such as Kevin Garnett, Lisa Leslie, Brandi Chastain, Cobi Jones, Jerry Rice and Joe Sakic among others.
Playground Productions did not confirm to Sports Illustrated if they’ll collaborate in conjunction with professional leagues in order to have their athletes participate in the competitions, however more announcements are likely to be made in the near future.
” Backyard Sports is more than just a game; it’s a cherished part of childhood for millions of people,” Lindsay Barnett the chief executive officer and founder of Playground Productions, said in an announcement. “I look at media as the largest classroom in the world. As such, our goal is to produce meaningful content that not only entertains but also educates and inspires. The return of Backyard Sports is the perfect embodiment of that goal.”
While the ownership rights of the franchise been in flux for the past decade with nothing to show for it and it was the Backyard Sports series was reintroduced to the mainstream in 2012 when now-retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce made the suggestion to restart the franchise.
“I don’t even know if I want to mention this,” Kelce stated in the New Heights podcast in January. “I’ve secretly been looking into seeing if anybody holds the rights to Backyard Baseballand Backyard Footballbecause I want to buy it and get this thing going again.”
Sources have confirmed the report by Sports Illustrated that Kelce isn’t involved in this reboot.
“While Jason Kelce isn’t directly involved in this relaunch, he represents an audience of people that, to this day, fondly remember Backyard Sports as a staple game with iconic characters beloved by many,” A Playground Productions spokesperson told Sports Illustrated. “Just like Jason and the millions of other fans out there, Playground Productions recognizes the nostalgia of this franchise and is thrilled to bring it back to life to reach a new generation of players.”
Alongside the release of these video-based games Playground Productions plans to revive Backyard Sportsworld. Backyard Sportsworld in other areas like merchandise as well as film and television.
